Government accused of Cornwall ‘cover-up’ as it bans release of G7 risk dossier on Covid

The impact of the G7 summit on the huge rise in Covid cases in the areas of Cornwall where it took place is being “covered up” amid concerns over spiking cases in the area, local politicians have warned.

Since the global leaders’ summit, Cornwall has experienced the fastest growing rates of infection of any county in in the UK, with areas where G7 events were held witnessing rates of infection rising more than 4,000 per cent.

Despite the rise in cases local health officials and Cabinet members on Cornwall Council have denied the G7, which took between 11-13 June, had an impact on case numbers.

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Andrew George, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Ludgvan, Madron, Gulval and Heamoor who was the MP for St Ives until 2015, told i he has made repeated requests to the government for to make public its risk assessment for the G7 public since January and has made repeated requests since.

The Government and Cornwall Council has continued to deny his demand, and those of other local politicians on the grounds of security issues.

Councillors are now accusing Cornwall’s director of public health Rachel Wigglesworth of helping to protect the Government from blame.

In an email to Councillor Andy Virr the Conservative portfolio holder for public health in the county, seen by i, Ms Wigglesworth is quoted as saying: “Our DPH and public health team have worked with Cabinet office, DHSC and National and regional Public Health England (PHE) teams to identify the public health risks associated with holding the G7 Summit . . . The individual risk assessments for each of the Summit venues is not able to be shared with members since the Cabinet Office identified that they contain sensitive security information.”

Ms Wigglesworth adds that the “ultimate decision” to go ahead with the summit rested “with the Prime Minister”.

Mr Virr and Ms Wigglesworth did not respond to requests for comment. Mr George told i: “There’s an undeniable correlation between G7 locations and very high covid case-load. It should drive public bodies to at the very least maintain an open mind. But Cornwall’s Council’s Conservative Health Chief [Mr Virr] has already declared that ‘G7 is not the cause of this new spike’. 

“Such attempts to prematurely deny the possibility that the G7 summit was a significant cause of this outbreak undermines confidence in those charged with responsibility for protecting public health, and gives rise to concerns that public bodies are being used to buttress a partisan cover-up.”

Edwina Hannaford, the Liberal Democrat group leader in Cornwall and councillor for Looe West, Pelynt, Lansallos and Lanteglos, added she had asked Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for housing, communities, and local government, if she could see the G7 risk assessment during a conference call before the summit took place.  

“He didn’t answer the question,” she said. “The architect of this is Boris Johnson who prioritised his impending visit to India over protecting the health of the people of UK and Cornwall.” 

John Bastin, the Conservative councillor for Mabe & Mawnan and chair of the council’s adult health and social care overview and scrutiny committee, added that the rise in infections “could be linked perhaps to the G7 preparation circus that has been here for several weeks”.

Dorothy Kirk, the Labour councillor for Calstock claimed the rise in cases in the county was due to “the enormous retinues accompanying the event”, which resulted in up to 20,000 people, including political advisors, construction workers, protestors, police and other officials being in the county during the summit from before and during the summit. 

Thousands of protesters descended on Cornwall during the G7 summit (Photo: William Dax/Getty Images)

As a new Covid-19 outbreak takes a stranglehold on Cornwall after a busy half term holiday period and the G7 summit, local schools and businesses are feeling the impact. 

Last Wednesday the Mounts Bay Academy, which includes in its catchment area the primary schools around the G7 base in St Ives and Carbis Bay, sent more than 100 pupils home following an outbreak of the virus in many year groups. The fear is the school may be forced to close entirely in the coming days if the surge in infections is not stemmed. 

At least one primary school in St Ives itself has also had to send children home, meaning they have to miss out on education for another ten days following the half term closure and being forced to shut its doors in the week running up to the global leaders’ summit. 

One local parent Lee Strickland, who also runs the Cohort Hostel in St Ives, said: “I’m tearing my hair out. My daughter has just been sent home from school because there was an infection in her bubble. That’s another ten days of school she’s got to miss, and another ten days where I have to care for her and try and run our business.” 

The Covid outbreak in G7 towns such as St Ives and Falmouth, which is caused largely more the more transmissible Delta variant from India, has also led to the closure of dozens of hospitality businesses as staff either catch the virus or are forced to self-isolate when a colleague does. 

This weekend the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club in Falmouth, which is based next to where the global media was based during G7, become the latest business to close its doors. 

In a message to members on social media, the Commodore at the club said: “It is with great regret that I once again have to write to you all to advise you that the club is closing with immediate effect due to a Covid infection of one member of staff.” 

The closure is the latest in a long line of hospitality business pulling the down the shutters. 

Boo Koos and The Front in Falmouth, and Muddy Beach in Penryn closed their doors last week due to positive Covid-19 test results among staff, as did the The Shipwrights Arms in Helford, and the Pedn Olva hotel in St Ives. 

Along with staff shortages due to the prevalence and the virus on the South West Peninsular, another issue hospitality businesses are facing is concern among visitors about visiting a Covid hotspot, with many already facing booking cancellations. 

In the seven days to 15 June Covid cases in St Ives and Halsetown stood at 920.1 in 100,000 people, while cases in Falmouth East, where G7 events also took place, has leapt to 885.7 per 100,000. The national rate in England is 85.1 per 100,000. Only two other council wards – in Durham and Leeds – in England have a higher rate of infection than St Ives.

Across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly the rate of infection is 117.5 per 100,000 up from 2.8 per 100,000 two weeks ago and before the G7 summit. This equates to a rise of 4,098 per cent over the past two weeks.

Leading politicians and doctors in Cornwall are calling on the Government to introduce surge testing and provide additional vaccination doses to stem a ‘tsunami’ of infections in areas where the G7 summit took place earlier this month. 

The official line from Cornwall Council is that “there is no evidence to connect the rise in case numbers to the G7 summit” and have blamed the surge in infections on local students in Falmouth and half term holiday makers. 

However, it has emerged that most student studying at the universities in Falmouth had already returned home during last month’s half term, and other popular tourist destinations across the country have not suffered rises anywhere close to those in Cornwall where G7 events were held. 

Despite the insistence from Cornwall Council that G7 is not to blame for the rise in infections, local leaders and doctors believe there is a clear link. 

One senior doctor in the St Ives area told i: “It is reasonable to contend that there must be another reason for the level of variance in St Ives and Falmouth other than the half term effect. Cornwall has done better than almost the entire country with the vaccine roll-out, which ought to given us greater protection, yet there has been a tsunami of infection since people starting arriving for G7, weeks before the event itself.” 

In order to stem the tide of infections many councillors are calling on the Government to act now. 

Mike Thomas, the Independent councillor for Helston North, said: “We absolutely need surge testing and more vaccinations to try and stop the surge. We have places like the Pirates rugby ground in Penzance, and leisure centres in Falmouth and St Ives that should all be being used as mass vaccination centres as soon as possible.” 

Jayne Kirkham, Cornwall’s Labour group leader and councillor for Falmouth Penwerris, added: “It would be helpful if the Government could provide heavily impacted places like Falmouth with extra testing capacity and extra vaccination capacity in the town as the people who most need vaccinating.” 

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “We are not aware of any cases of transmission from delegates to local residents but will continue to monitor the situation in the coming days and weeks.”

Cornwall Council’s public health team had not responded to several requests for comment at the time of publication.